It’s a hopeful, confusing time to be a parent during a pandemic. On one hand, the vaccine rollout is picking up pace and public health experts have given us every reason to believe that this summer will be a wonderful release from our Covid-19 strictures. That doesn’t mean Covid will be gone or that losses…
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Parenting
Parenting
Is my birthday boy getting too used to being isolated?
My youngest son is turning 5 next month, and he’s never had a birthday party. For a long time, this was sort of a running joke about neglected second…
Parenting
A talk with my dad, screenwriter of ‘My Name Is Sara’
In this column, I usually write about my kids and my experiences as a parent, but this month I decided to interview my own father, David Himmelstein. He’s…
Parenting
My kids want to know: Are fairies real? Are Jedi? What about bats?
We’ve been watching a lot of family movies over our extended winter break, and my children have questions. Regarding “Home Alone”: Do the robbers really…
Parenting
As I exit J., here is what I’ve learned about everything
Our youngest, now in his senior year of high school, recently turned 18. He’s spending his year thinking about his next chapter, and, in many ways, I am,…
Parenting
Since when are the Berenstain Bears evangelical Christians?
At our local library, they have stowed away all the toys in the children’s section and ended in-person story time. But they still let you in for half an…
Parenting
My much-needed, spontaneous pandemic chill-out
I was never a fan of giving the kids timeouts when they were little. I didn’t think putting them in a room by themselves taught them anything about their…
Parenting
Parenting through this pandemic Thanksgiving
There will be four people at my Thanksgiving table: my husband, my two children and me. They’re the same people I sit down to dinner with every night. And…
Parenting
It all turned out fine, so it looks like my worrying worked
When our kids were younger, there were a lot of things that I used to worry about. I called the pediatrician in a panic many times — would our daughter…